Police, Citizens Should Scale Down On Arms

Letter to the editor

One does not need to travel to Iraq to see armies equipped with military weapons, camouflage outfits, guns strapped to every limb, and armed vehicles. Just look at the pictures of the police in Ferguson, Mo. Or remember Cliven Bundy's ranch in Nevada, with its "militia" surrounding the perimeter.

If there is anything that will incite an already angry crowd, the presence of such military force will cause even more unrest. My children were taught that the police where there to protect and help you. I cannot believe that any child would approach these Rambo-looking men with their threatening demeanor.

The cost must be staggering to deploy all this equipment. If the rationale is that the police feel they need to be better equipped than citizens, it validates the rationale for somehow curtailing the proliferation of guns in this country. Let calm heads prevail and maintain peace within our own country.